Biyombo continues to progress as a 2nd-year player for Bobcats

Published: Tuesday, April 2, 2013 at 11:41 AM.

CHARLOTTE – When the Charlotte Bobcats drafted Bismack Biyombo seventh overall in the 2011 NBA draft, they knew the 19-year-old would be a “project” player.

They didn’t envision him missing valuable time with his new team before his rookie season due to a labor dispute and a contractual dispute with his Spanish professional team.

Now in his second professional season, the 20-year-old Biyombo is slowly but surely showing the enormous potential the Bobcats felt he had.

“He’s trending toward what we think he’s going to be,” Charlotte coach Mike Dunlap said of Biyombo after one of his recent strong efforts. “He plays really active all the time. He’s an energy player and he can rebound with any player in the league.”

To be sure, as the Bobcats prepare for Wednesday night’s 7 p.m. home game with Philadelphia 76ers, it’s been a painstaking process, one that’s involved several coaches spending lots and lots of individual time with the athletic 6-foot-9, 245-pound center from The Congo.

It’s a process that’s led several Bobcats fans – and even some scouts – to wonder if that patience would lead to long-term benefit for a franchise that has suffered miserably on the court in the last seasons.

“My target was to become a better rebounder and a better shot blocker,” Biyombo said of his offseason goals last summer. “And I needed to be able to use both hands. I think my shot is getting better and I think my game is getting better. I have to thank my teammates and the coaches for giving me confidence.

CHARLOTTE – When the Charlotte Bobcats drafted Bismack Biyombo seventh overall in the 2011 NBA draft, they knew the 19-year-old would be a “project” player.

They didn’t envision him missing valuable time with his new team before his rookie season due to a labor dispute and a contractual dispute with his Spanish professional team.

Now in his second professional season, the 20-year-old Biyombo is slowly but surely showing the enormous potential the Bobcats felt he had.

“He’s trending toward what we think he’s going to be,” Charlotte coach Mike Dunlap said of Biyombo after one of his recent strong efforts. “He plays really active all the time. He’s an energy player and he can rebound with any player in the league.”

To be sure, as the Bobcats prepare for Wednesday night’s 7 p.m. home game with Philadelphia 76ers, it’s been a painstaking process, one that’s involved several coaches spending lots and lots of individual time with the athletic 6-foot-9, 245-pound center from The Congo.

It’s a process that’s led several Bobcats fans – and even some scouts – to wonder if that patience would lead to long-term benefit for a franchise that has suffered miserably on the court in the last seasons.

“My target was to become a better rebounder and a better shot blocker,” Biyombo said of his offseason goals last summer. “And I needed to be able to use both hands. I think my shot is getting better and I think my game is getting better. I have to thank my teammates and the coaches for giving me confidence.

“I can’t put more pressure on myself. Guys expect a lot from me, but I’ve been working a lot every day. I’m trying to make sure I’m doing the right things and making sure my development is coming along.”

As a rookie during Charlotte’s historically-bad 7-59 season last year, Biyombo started 41 times in 63 games and averaged 5.2 points, 5.8 rebounds, 1.8 blocks and 23.1 minutes. His blocked shot average was tops among 2011-12 rookies and eighth overall in the league.

Entering Wednesday’s game, Biyombo has started 57 of 72 games and is averaging 4.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 1.7 blocks and 26.4 minutes.

While those numbers remain somewhat modest, they have shown improvements in many areas – and are actually part of first-year coach Dunlap’s plan since the first of the season to develop young players, even if it’s at the expense of wins.

“In the early days (of the season) behind closed doors, the blueprint between us was, ‘You’re gonna start,’” Dunlap said. “’And we’re going to grit our teeth and you’re going to get through some tough patches. On a bad night, you’re going to 18-20 minutes and on good nights, who knows?’

“It’s turned out that he’s trended toward where we want.”

Biyombo says he doesn’t pay attention to criticism that his development isn’t coming as fast as some want. If anything, he’s adopted the attitude that his work ethic will get him through whatever challenges he may face.

“The first year was really tough,” Biyombo said. “We had a lockout. We had a lot of games in a short period. I had my (contract) situation and didn’t get a training camp. So everything came really quick to me. I had to just slow myself down and work. Again, it’s a long way to go and it’s going to take time. I believe in working hard and I’m going to keep working hard – every single day.”